Little Queen
by Daddyscowgirl94
Summary: From that day on, the Beasts of Narnia referred to Lucy as their "Little Queen." She was particularly endeared to her animal subjects, who knew how hard it was to get Lady Ursula the Bear to laugh. Lucy had managed to do it twice, quite without intending to. One-shot, Lucy-centric. Fluff, no pairings.


The celebration lasted over a week. The Narnians had spent a hundred years under the White Witch's oppression, and they had a lot of lost parties to make up for. There was never a shortage of food or good company, and the children had hardly any time to breathe, between dancing and talking and meeting an endless line of new people. The older three tired quickly of the introductions – which was only to be expected, given the lengthy list of important names which _must_ be remembered.

"That there is Ursula. She's proud of her lineage, as she can trace her matrilineage all the way back to the First Day," Mr. Beaver pointed at a large She-Bear who looked quite disgruntled indeed.

"She doesn't look happy to be here," Lucy noted. "Why? Isn't she glad that the Witch is defeated?"

"Of course," laughed Mrs. Beaver. "But she's a Bear, my Queen."

"So?"

"So, love, Bears aren't too fond of company," Mr. Beaver explained. "I'm not quite sure how she was persuaded to attend this party – she always says she too old to deal with us 'foolish folk.' But since she's here, I wouldn't ignore her. When you get the chance, go over and say hello. She's as wise as they get; she may be in the mood for offering advice. It's a rare mood for her, but not unheard of. And the word of a Bear is as good as gold." Lucy looked hard at the great Bear, trying to decide if she should feel frightened by such a large presence. Susan certainly seemed scared, but Peter and Edmund simply looked curious. The youngest Queen wondered if they were thinking of visiting with the Bear. She certainly wanted to, but she distinctly remembered that in that Other Place, Bears were feared. Was that the same for Narnia? But Mr. Beaver had said to say hello, and now Lucy was a Queen. It wasn't the place of a Queen to fear her subjects, was it? And surely the Bear would not try to eat her with so many people around. Lucy took a big breath and a determined step forward. Before she quite knew what she intended, she had crossed the lawn and was approaching Ursula the Bear.

"Excuse me," she said, sounding much smaller than she thought she should. The Bear made a deep sound in her throat as she turned her massive head to the Queen.

"I was wondering when I would get to speak with one of you," she said. Lucy was startled by the breathiness of her voice. She had been growing accustomed to the wild sounds of Narnia's Beasts, but the Bear sounded older than Time itself. It was a strange feeling – as if Lucy were addressing a cave or rock.

"Are you enjoying the party?" the Queen asked, recalling how Susan had greeted some of the guests. Ursula the Bear huffed – she was chuckling, Lucy thought. Other Narnians had made similar sounds, and Lucy had decided to be pleased when she heard them.

"I do not enjoy large gatherings," the She-Bear said. "But the food is good, and that says much."

"I think so, too. I have never been to a party quite like this," Lucy confessed.

"What do you mean, Little Queen?"

"I mean, most of the parties I am used to happen indoors, and they only last for a few hours. Even the lawn parties I've gone to didn't last this long."

"That sounds like my kind of party," Ursula grunted. "Too many people for too long. Little cubs like yourself cannot be expected to enjoy such a large gathering."

"Oh, no, I _am_ enjoying it!" Lucy amended. "Much more than Edmund, I think. He keeps falling asleep."

"I have noticed," Ursula huffed again.

"Mr. Beaver said that you do not like coming to parties, and that he was surprised you had come."

"Did he now?" Ursula asked, sounding amused. "Well, I daresay he was right. You won't catch me at many other parties like this, Little Queen. I only came to meet you and your siblings. Must be remarkable children, for Aslan to have chosen you for His country."

"Thank you," Lucy said, uncertain what else to say to such a blunt compliment. "Where do you live?"

"A fair bit from here," Ursula sighed. "I have a burrow near Lantern Waste. In fact, my closest neighbor is your own little Faun, over there."

"You live by Mr. Tumnus?" Lucy asked, excited.

"Not really. But he is the closest to me. He used to visit me, sometimes, before the Witch employed him. Didn't get many others around, so he checked up on me when it crossed his mind. This winter threw my life into quite a stir. Tumnus stopped by to make sure I was still alive."

Lucy didn't like such grim talk, so she made a slight shift in the conversation. "Don't bears sleep through the winter?"

"Aye, that they do."

"So did you sleep for a hundred years?" An image inexplicably came to mind of a woman laying on a bed, surrounded by cobwebs and covered in dust. She was reminded of a story from that Other Place where an evil witch had cast a spell on a baby princess that made her sleep for a hundred years, until a prince came to wake her with a kiss.

"I might have, if there wasn't such a constant ruckus outside my den. Unfortunately, that Witch lived a ways down the road, so she always passed my den when she went anywhere, and those infernal bells kept waking me. I sometimes wondered if she made them jingle louder on purpose when she passed me, just to keep me from slumber."

"But if you had slept the whole Winter, would you have awoken6 when Aslan returned?" The Bear looked thoughtfully at Lucy, as if the notion had not occurred to her.

"Perhaps. Perhaps not. Though I'd wager that this party would have woken me up. These young folk are making enough noise to wake an Ettinsmoor Giant." Lucy didn't know what an Ettinsmoor Giant was, but she understood the meaning. "Get you back to your other guests, Little Queen," Ursula said gently. "It is quite rude to devote all your time to one."

"Are you going to leave, Ursula?" asked Lucy.

"I'll stay a little longer, I think. I'd like to meet your siblings."

"I'll send them over!"

"No. I want them to come to me on their own." Lucy thought this rather peculiar – it might take hours for Peter or Susan to come, and there was no telling if it would even cross Edmund's mind to approach a Bear – but she nodded and made her way over to a table laden with cheese and fruits. She had enjoyed her conversation with Ursula the Bear, and hoped that she could speak with her again.

From that day on, though, the Beasts of Narnia referred to Lucy as their "Little Queen." She was particularly endeared to her animal subjects, who knew how hard it was to get Lady Ursula the Bear to laugh. Lucy had managed to do it twice, quite without intending to.


End file.
